Notice2023-18872
Northern States Power Company; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Reviews and Soliciting Scoping Comments
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Published
August 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60201-60203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18872]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2610-012; Project No. 2587-066]
Northern States Power Company; Notice of Scoping Meetings and
Environmental Site Reviews and Soliciting Scoping Comments
Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been
filed with the Commission and are available for public inspection.
a. Type of Applications: Subsequent Minor (P-2610-012), New Major
License (P-2587-066).
b. Project Nos.: P-2610-012 and P-2587-066.
c. Date Filed: December 30, 2022.
d. Applicant: Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin
Corporation.
e. Names of Projects: Saxon Falls Hydroelectric Project (Saxon
Project) and Superior Falls Hydroelectric Project (Superior Project).
f. Location: The projects are located on the Montreal River in
Gogebic County, Michigan and Iron County, Wisconsin near the cities of
Ironwood, Michigan and Hurley, Wisconsin.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Matthew Miller, Hydro License Consultant,
Northern States Power Company, 1414 West Hamilton Avenue, P.O. Box 8,
Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54702-0008; telephone at (715) 737-1353 or email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fc919d888894998bd296d291959090998ebc849f99909992998e9b85d29f9391"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d707c696975786a33773370747171786f5d657e78717873786f7a64337e7270">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Nicholas Ettema, telephone at (312) 596-4447; or
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a3433393235363b29743f2e2e3f373b1a3c3f2839743d352c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="711f1812191e1d10025f140505141c1031171403125f161e07">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: October 28, 2023.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at <a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx</a>. Commenters can submit brief
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the
eComment system at <a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx</a>. You
must include your name and contact information at the end of your
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cc8a899e8f83a2a0a5a2a99fb9bcbca3beb88caaa9beafe2aba3ba"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="aaeceff8e9e5c4c6c3c4cff9dfdadac5d8deeacccfd8c984cdc5dc">[email protected]</span></a>, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy.
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to:
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via
any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville,
MD 20852. All filings must clearly identify the following on the first
page: Saxon Project No. 2610-012, and/or Superior Project No. 2587-066.
The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all
interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of
that document on each person on the official service list for the
project. Further, if an intervener files comments or documents with the
Commission relating to the merits of an issue that may affect the
responsibilities of a particular resource agency, they must also serve
a copy of the document on that resource agency.
[[Page 60202]]
k. The applications are not ready for environmental analysis at
this time.
l. Project Descriptions:
Saxon Project
The Saxon Project consists of an Ambursen-type buttress concrete
dam that includes: (1) a 250-foot-long non-overflow earthen embankment;
(2) a 57-foot-long non-overflow concrete section; (3) a 31-foot-long
non-overflow concrete section with a 19-foot-long, 36.6-foot-high
intake structure equipped with a flap gate and a trashrack with 1-inch
clear bar spacing; (4) a 30-foot-long concrete section with a 13-foot-
high steel Tainter gate; (5) a 127-foot-long spillway section with a
crest elevation of 997.0 feet National Geodetic Vertical Dam of 1929
(NGVD 29); and (6) a 23.5-foot-long north abutment section.
The Saxon Project's dam creates an impoundment with a surface area
of approximately 70 acres at an elevation of 997.0 feet NGVD 29. From
the impoundment, water flows through the intake structure to a 1,607-
foot-long steel conduit, a surge tank, and two steel penstocks. From
the penstocks, water is conveyed to a powerhouse that contains two 750-
kilowatt (kW) horizontal turbine-generator units, for a total installed
capacity of 1,500 kW. Water is discharged from the powerhouse directly
to the Montreal River. The Saxon Project creates an approximately
2,400-foot-long bypassed reach of the Montreal River. A minimum flow
pipe extends from the 31-foot-long non-overflow section of the dam to
provide flow to the bypassed reach.
Electricity generated at the powerhouse is transmitted to the
electric grid via an approximately 1,000-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV)
overhead transmission line, a 2.4/34.5-kV step-up transformer, and a
12-mile-long, 34.5-kV transmission line.
Project recreation facilities include: (1) a canoe take-out site,
boat ramp, and parking area on the southern shore of the impoundment;
and (2) a tailwater access site and parking area on the southern
shoreline of the Montreal River, opposite of the powerhouse.
Northern States Power operates the project in run-of-river mode,
such that project outflow approximates inflow to the impoundment. The
current license requires Northern States Power to: (1) minimize
fluctuations of the impoundment surface elevation; (2) maintain a
minimum impoundment elevation of 997.0 feet NGVD 29 from ice-out
through June 1 each year; and (3) from June 2 through ice-out, maintain
an impoundment elevation between a minimum of 996.5 and a maximum of
997.0 feet NGVD 29. The current license also requires Northern States
Power to release a minimum flow of 5 cubic feet per second (cfs) or
inflow, whichever is less, to the bypassed reach from ice-out through
October 31 (ice-free season) each year, to protect aquatic and
aesthetic resources. The average annual energy production of the Saxon
Project from 2017 through 2021 was 10,015.3 MWh.
Northern States Power proposes to revise the Saxon Project boundary
around the impoundment to follow a contour elevation of 997.0 feet NGVD
29, which would result in a reduction in the total acreage of the
project boundary upstream of the project dam, from 159 acres to 71.7
acres. Additionally, Northern States Power proposes to add 2.7 acres of
land to the project boundary near the dam and remove 20 acres of land
from the project boundary along the bypassed reach and river downstream
of the powerhouse.
Northern States Power proposes to continue operating the Saxon
Project in run-of-river mode and maintain water surface elevations as
described above with the exception of the maximum impoundment elevation
of the Saxon Project from June 2 through ice-out. In addition, Northern
States Power proposes to release a minimum aesthetic flow of 5 cfs or
inflow, whichever is less, from the Saturday before Memorial Day to
October 15, except on weekends and holidays, when a minimum aesthetic
flow of 10 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, would be released from
8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Superior Project
The Superior Project consists of an Ambursen-type buttress concrete
dam that includes: (1) a west abutment section; (2) a 45-foot-long
section with a 41.4-foot-long west spillway; (3) a 22-foot-long section
with a west steel Tainter gate; (4) an 18.6-foot-long section with an
11.5-foot-long east ogee spillway section with a crest elevation of
740.2 feet NGVD 29, and two sluice gates; (5) a 40.5-foot-long section
with two 16-foot-long, 18-foot-high east steel Tainter gates; (6) a 70-
foot-long non-overflow section with a 23-foot-long, 29.25-foot-high
intake structure equipped with a timber headgate and a trashrack with
1-inch clear bar spacing; and (7) an east abutment section.
The Superior Project's dam creates an impoundment with a surface
area of 16.3 acres at an elevation of 740.2 feet NGVD 29. From the
impoundment, water flows through the intake structure to a 7-foot-
diameter, 1,697-foot-long concrete conduit, a 28-foot-diameter, 41-
foot-high concrete and steel surge tank, and two 4.5-foot-diameter,
207-foot-long steel penstocks. From the penstocks, water is conveyed to
a 32-foot-long, 62-foot-wide concrete powerhouse that contains two 825-
kW horizontal Francis turbine-generator units, for a total installed
capacity of 1,650 kW. Water is discharged from the powerhouse to an
approximately 80-foot-long, 55-foot-wide tailrace. The Superior Project
creates an approximately 1,900-foot-long bypassed reach of the Montreal
River.
Electricity generated at the powerhouse is transmitted to the
electric grid via a 200-foot-long, 2.4-kV overhead transmission line
and a 2.4/34.5-kV step-up transformer located in a substation
approximately 150 feet west of the powerhouse.
Recreation facilities at the Superior Project include: (1) a canoe
take-out site and an associated 5-vehicle parking area on the western
shoreline of the impoundment, approximately 1,050 feet upstream of the
dam; (2) a scenic overlook site on the eastern shoreline of the
bypassed reach, approximately 480 feet upstream of the tailrace; (3) a
fishing area on the eastern shoreline of the tailrace; and (4) a
parking area and access trails for the scenic overlook and fishing
area.
Northern States Power proposes to reduce the total acreage of the
project boundary upstream of the project dam from 296.4 acres to 22.2
acres. Additionally, Northern States Power proposes to add 3.9 acres of
land near the powerhouse to the project boundary, remove 35 acres of
land east of State Highway 122, and remove 11.1 acres of land along the
bypassed reach.
Northern States Power proposes to continue operating the Superior
Project in run-of-river mode and maintain water surface elevations and
minimum flows as described above.
m. Copies of the applications can be viewed on the Commission's
website at <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a> using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the
project's docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket
number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
You may also register at <a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx</a> to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, please
contact FERC Online Support at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7f1f2e5f4f8d9dbded9d2e4c2c7c7d8c5c3f7d1d2c5d499d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d5b584f5e5273717473784e686d6d726f695d7b786f7e337a726b">[email protected]</span></a>.
The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners,
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and
[[Page 60203]]
others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission
processes. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such
as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dc938c8c9cbab9aebff2bbb3aa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a5eaf5f5e5c3c0d7c68bc2cad3">[email protected]</span></a>.
n. Scoping Process: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA), Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental
assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS)
(collectively referred to as the ``NEPA document'') that describes and
evaluates the probable effects, including an assessment of the site-
specific and cumulative effects, if any, of the proposed action and
alternatives. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the
required level of analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements,
irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS.
Scoping Meetings
Commission staff will hold two public scoping meetings for the
projects to receive input on the scope of the environmental issues that
should be analyzed in the NEPA document. An evening meeting will be
held at 7:00 p.m. on September 27, 2023, at the City Hall of Hurley,
Wisconsin, and will focus on receiving input from the public. A daytime
meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. on September 28, 2023, at the same
location, and will focus on the concerns of resource agencies, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), and Indian Tribes. We invite all
interested agencies, Indian Tribes, non-governmental organizations, and
individuals to attend one or both of these meetings. The times and
locations of these meetings are as follows:
Evening Scoping Meeting
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. (CDT)
Place: City Hall of Hurley
Address: 405 5th Avenue North, Hurley, WI 54534
Daytime Scoping Meeting
Date: Thursday, September 28, 2023
Time: 9:00 a.m. (CDT)
Place: City Hall of Hurley
Address: 405 5th Avenue North, Hurley, WI 54534
Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the proposed project
and subject areas to be addressed in the NEPA document were distributed
to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will
be available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at
<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a> using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).
Environmental Site Reviews
The applicant and Commission staff will conduct environmental site
reviews of the projects. All interested individuals, agencies, Indian
Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend. All participants are
responsible for their own transportation to the sites and during the
site visits. Please RSVP via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8fe2eefbfbe7eaf8a1e5a1e2e6e3e3eafdcff7eceae3eae1eafde8f6a1ece0e2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="731e1207071b16045d195d1e1a1f1f1601330b10161f161d1601140a5d101c1e">[email protected]</span></a>
or notify Matthew Miller at 715-737-1353 on or before Friday, September
22, 2023, if you plan to attend the environmental site reviews. The
times and locations of the environmental site reviews are as follows:
Saxon Falls and Superior Falls Hydroelectric Projects
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m. (CDT)
Place: Superior Falls Hydroelectric Project
Participants will meet at the Superior Falls parking lot for the
powerhouse of the Superior Project, which is located on Lake Superior
Rd, immediately adjacent to the west side of Lake County Park (Latitude
46.56494/Longitude-90.41523). Immediately following the site review at
the Superior Project, participants will proceed to the Saxon Project.
All participants are responsible for their own transportation and must
wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes, or boots.
Objectives
At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) summarize the
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the NEPA
document; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available
information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue;
(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that
should be analyzed in the NEPA document, including viewpoints in
opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4)
determine the resource issues to be addressed in the NEPA document; and
(5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as
those issues that do not require a detailed analysis.
Procedures
The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. Individuals,
NGOs, Indian Tribes, and agencies with environmental expertise and
concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to assist the staff
in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the NEPA
document.
Dated: August 25, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-18872 Filed 8-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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